Happy Tuesday! I have a wonderfully unique book for you. This is an imaginative story that incorporates aspects of Homer’s Odyssey and a historical fiction novel. For my full review keep reading after the book blurb.
Book Blurb:
ONLY BETSY CAN GET HIM HOME IN TIME; ONLY HE CAN BRING HER BACK BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.
A grief-stricken candy-striper serving in a VA hospital following her brother’s death in Viet Nam struggles to return home an anonymous veteran of the Great War against the skullduggery of a congressman who not only controls the hospital as part of his small-town fiefdom but knows the name of her veteran. A name if revealed would end his political ambitions and his fifty-year marriage. In its retelling of Odysseus’ journey, Revenants casts a flickering candle upon the charon toll exacted not only from the families of those who fail to return home but of those who do.
Review:
Betsy’s life is flipped upside down when her brother dies in Vietnam. Her grades fall and her behavior falters. When she is given one chance to change she reluctantly grabs at it. Being a candy-striper at the VA changes her perspective completely. She sees what war does to its soldiers and when she realizes there is a patient that is being hidden away she makes it her duty to get him home. What Betsy uncovers will change her and her memory of her brother. She will travel through time and history to uncover the one soldier that needs to find his way home.
This was truly a phenomenal book. I am a huge Odyssey fan and when I realized this story was a mixture of my love of history and my love of Homer’s Odyssey, I had high expectations. These expectations were met and exceeded. The entwining stories of the mystery soldier and Betsy’s drive to get all of her current soldiers home was sweet, endearing and enchanting. I fell into this book and am left with a tremendous book hangover. All of the characters were well written and developed into complex realistic characters. Overall, I would highly recommend this book for anyone looking for a full reading experience that will leave you with a hangover that your next book will have a hard time topping.